Honda CBR300R unveiled

Remember we told you about a Honda CBR300R in our September issue this year? Well, seems that we were wrong, and right in a way. As we like to brag about what we did right, let's go for that bit first. Yes, the Honda CBR300R was in the pipeline and will be unveiled to the public on October 17th at the China International Motorcycle Trade Exhibition (CIMAMotor) in Chongqing, China.

As for the bits where we were a little off-the-mark – the CBR300R won’t look like a 250R clone as we had predicted. Instead, it ditches the Y-shaped headlight design of the 250R for an aggressive twin headlight cluster of the CBR500R and the rest of the CBR family. The other noticeable difference is the cylindrical exhaust that replaces bulky triangular-shaped exhaust of the 250R.

For the juicy bits. The 286cc engine will make 30bhp and 27Nm of torque, 4bhp and more than 4Nm of torque over and above the existing motor's output. As far as pricing goes, we think Honda will price the CBR300R at almost the same price as the 250R – thanks to KTM’s aggressive pricing strategy.

The real noodle-scratcher is will the Honda CBR300R come to India? The answer - of course it will! When? For that we might have to wait for the 2014 Delhi Auto Expo to know more.